Heater



,June24,1947- E. E. HANS 2,422,831

HEATER Original Filed Dec. 4, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet .1

I o INVENTOR.

"Ak ta/ E. E. HANS HEATER June 24, 1947,

Original Filed Dec. 4, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. fl/771101697427:

Patented June 24, 1947 UNITED STATES OFFICE HEATER Edmund E. Hans, Detroit, Mich. Substituted for abandoned applicationserial No.

512,979, December 4, 194-3.

This application June 8, 194.6, Serial No. 675,886

3 Claims.v (Cl. 257-137) This application is a substitute for abandoned application Serial No..512,9'79, filed Dec. 4, 1943.

This invention relates to improvements in heaters and refers particularly to heaters for automobiles. This invention aims, among other things, to provide a heater which is particularly adapted for use in quite cold weather, and is so constructed and arranged that maximum heating of the interior of a closed vehicle body may be attained either during country driving at high speeds, r01 during relatively slow stop-and-go city driving.

.At the present time it is customary to provide an apertured cowl through which outside air passes into a duct whence it travels through a housing having a fan therein which discharges the air through a heater .core into the vehicle body. With such an arrangement, when travelling at high speeds, considerably more air is delivered through the duct than the fan is capable of handling so that the fan and its motor then merely constitute a restriction to materially reduce the volume of air flowing through the housing. In consequence the temperature within the vehicle body at such times often becomes too cool for comfort, particularly since at high speeds the demand for heat is greatest. On the other hand the small volume of air from outside which would flow through the housing during relatively slow stop-and-go driving would be entirely insufficient for heating purposes if the fan were dispensed with. With the equipment above mentioned it is therefore sometimes necessary, when driving .fast, to close the fresh air inlet and resort to reheating and recirculating air already in the vehicle body throu h the housing to .maintainla comfortable temperature. This, however, .results in such an increase in the moisture content of the .air that windows and the windshield become .fogged and driving is rendered extremely hazardous.

It is therefore. an object of the invention to provide a heater including .a casing into which air from outside flows, a housing having a heater core mounted transversely therein and provided on its underside with an air inlet, a tubular member projectin upwardly from the housing having a fan therein so that air from the casing which flows into the top of the member is discharged by the fan across a portion of the heater core and through the outlet, and conduit pipes extending from the casing to the housing so that air also flows unobstructedly from the casing to the heater core and thence to the outlet. Moreover the tubular member and the conduit pipes are so .2 arrangedrthat .air cannot. flow :from one to the other intermediately of their length, and dividing walls maintain the air in separate streams duringits passage across the heater core and substantially until it reaches the outlet to prevent the formation of eddy currents which would reduce the heater output.

Having thus briefly and broadly stated some of the objects and advantages of the invention I will now'descri-be preferred embodiments thereof with the aid of the: accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a front view, partly in section, showing the heater mounted in position in a closed vehicle body.

Figures 2 and 3 are sections on the lines 2-2 and 3-3 respectively of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a partial front view showing a slight modification, and

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

In the drawings, l designates a portion of a closed automobile body having a cowl 2 through which an inlet 3 is provided which may be closed as by a pivoted cover 4. Within the body I is a casing 5 into which the inlet 3 opens, and forming the lower portion of the casing is a vertical duct 6 :iopenaat its lower extremity.

Suitably supported in the closed vehicle body i is a housing I in which a heater core 8 is transversely mounted, and beneath the heater core the lower extremity of the housing is rearwardly directed and terminates in an air outlet 9. Extending upwardly from the housing and narrower than the latter is a tubular member In open at the "top which is preferably in axial alignment with theduct'fi the bottom of which is above the top of thesaid member l ll. Mounted in the latter upon .a suitable bracket H is a motor l2 on the shaft of which a fan 13 is secured. Extending downwardly within the casing 5, :in the present instance one on each side of the tubular member l ll, are conduit pipes M the lower extremities of which project into the housing 1 and have the lowerextrem'itiesof their inner sides each secured to one of the plates 8a of the heater core 8. Extending also from the lower sides of the same plates 8a are parallel walls l5 which extend lengthwise in the lower portion of the housing I and divide it into separate passages, to wit a tubular member extension lfla and conduit pipe extensions [4a so that the said member and pipes and their extensions are continuously separated throughout their entire length.

Some of the air which enters th inlet 3 flows from the casing 5 down through the conduit pipes I4, across portions of the heater core 8, and through the conduit extensions Ma, and some of the air passes out of the duct 6 into the tubular member ID whence it is discharged by the fan I13 across a portion of the heater core 8 and through the member extension Illa.

The tubular member l and the conduit pipes 14 are so proportioned that during slower stopand-go driving when the volume of air flowing down through the conduit pipes I 4 is relatively small, the amount of air passing into the tubular member I!) and discharged therefrom by the fan I3 is sufficient to maintain a comfortable temperature within the body I. However due to the restriction created by the motor l2, the fan 13 and the bracket II when the vehicle is traveling at high speeds only very slightly more air is discharged by the fan although materially more air passes into the casing 5. It is at such times, however, that the demand for heat within the closed body is greatest, and this demand is satisfied by a vastly increased flow of air through the conduit pipes M which contain no obstruction between the casing and heater core 8.

In the arrangement shown in Figures 1 to 3, the conduit pipes 14 are shown extending from the upper portion of the casing and are separate from the tubular member until the common walls [6 are formed between them adjacent the top of the housing 1; in that instance also the upper portion of the tubular member ID including that portion which houses the fan I3 is shown circular in cross section; whereas in the modified construction shown in Figures 4 and 5 the member It! is of substantially square section throughout its length and its opposite sides also form the inner sides of the conduit pipes M which only extend a short distance above the top of the tubular member and project into the duct 6.

In both cases the top of the tubular member ID is shown below the bottom of the duct 6 so that there is an injector-like tendency for air flowing from the duct into the member to draw some air from within the body with it for reheating and recirculation. In this way the fan output t moderate speeds of travel is augmented and the proportion of recirculated air thus added does not increase the moisture content of the mixture sufiiciently to cause objectionable results. This arrangement also permits air from within the vehicle body to be reheated and recirculated in the event that it is imperative to close the fresh air inlet 3 in the cowl.

While in the foregoing the preferred embodiments have been described and shown, it is understood that the invention is susceptible to such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a heater, an air duct mounted in a closed vehicle body and having one extremity connected to a cowl opening for the entry of fresh air, a housing open at the top into which air from the duct flows, said housing also having an outlet adjacent the bottom, a heater icore mounted transversely in the housing adjacent the outlet, said housing being divided into completely separated passages which extend through and on both sides of the heater core whereby air streams flowing through the separate passages cannot mingle until after they have passed through said core, and a fan in one of said passages to discharge ir therein through the heater core.

2. In a heater, an air duct mounted in a. closed vehicle body and having one extremity connected to a cowl opening for the entry of fresh air, a housing open at the top into which air from the duct flows, said housing also having an outlet adjacent the bottom, a heater core mounted transversely in the housing adjacent the outlet, said housing being divided into completely separated passages which extend through and on both sides of the heater core whereby air streams flowing through the separate passages cannot mingle until after they have passed through said core, 'a fan in one of the passages to discharge air therein through the heater core, and that passage being spaced from the air duct to permit air from within the vehicle body also to flow thereinto.

3. In a heater, an air duct mounted in a closed vehicle :body and having one extremity connected to cowl opening for the entry of outside air, a housing open at the top and having an outlet adjacent the bottom, a heater core mounted transversely in the housing adjacent the bottom and above the outlet, said housing being divided into a plurality of entirely separated passages whichextend through and on both sides of the heater core and terminate at one extremity adjacent said outlet whereby air streams travelling through the separate passages cannot mingle until after passing through the heater core, a fan in one of said passages spaced from the side of the heater core remote from said outlet, the top of the passage having the fan therein being spaced beneath the air duct whereby air both from the duct and from within the vehicle body may enter said passage, and at least one other of said passages extending upwardly into said air duct.

EDMUND E. HANS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,215,901 Christman a Sept. 24, 1940 2,295,750 Norris et al Sept. 15, 1942 2,293,543 Hans Aug. 18, 1942 2,053,393 Clarkson Sept. 8, 1936 2,060,923 Breese, Jr Nov. 17, 1936 2,300,357 I-Ians Oct. 27, 1942 2,316,421 Hans Apr, 13, 1943 

